Lighting Style and Trends Blog

Bathroom Lighting Tips for Task and Ambient Lighting

Of course bathroom lighting needs to be functional, but that doesn't mean it also can't be beautiful.

It's a misconception from years past that bathrooms must be brightly lit. Bathrooms do require a certain amount of practical light to support practical activities that are performed in the bathroom, such as styling your hair or applying makeup. However, layers of light can be most effective in the bathroom because it can provide the ability to control the lighting depending on the task at hand.

Task Lighting

The best vanity lighting utilizes cross illumination, which provides shadow-free lighting. In other words, you need a lighting solution over the vanity, as well as on both sides of the vanity, which lights the face evenly, and achieves the "cross-illumination" effect.

Task lighting is one of the most important types of lighting for the bathroom, and should be addressed with a lighting scheme for the vanity. The Vanity Lighting to the right is part of the La Belle Collection.

Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting is typically provided by ceiling fixtures, and is especially important in the bath because of varied mixtures of materials and finishes, many of them shiny surfaces like wall tile, floor tile and chrome faucets.

By introducing some lower-level ambient lighting into the bath it's less likely to cause glare by reflecting off of shiny surfaces, which creates a more pleasing and relaxing environment. Bathroom Wall Lighting to the right is part of the Portofino Collection from Hinkley Lighting.